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Across the country, citizens now scratch their heads and wring their hands wondering what it takes to get Washington’s attention focused on the U.S.-Mexico border. During this election cycle, border security has received some attention, but not what it deserves.

The violence continues, the middle class is fleeing Mexico, and evidence mounts that criminal organizations are increasingly active and influential in the United States. Time has proved that boots on the ground provide a powerful deterrent, and, similar to the surge of troops in Iraq, it can change the dynamics of the situation markedly.

This November, Houston’s elections for mayor, controller and City Council produced some surprises. Incumbent Mayor Annise Parker was re-elected but only avoided a run-off by less than 1 percent of the votes cast, the smallest margin in a general election since Mayor Lee Brown was forced into a run-off in 2001. Moreover, several incumbent council members found their own electoral margins smaller than expected, including at-large Council Members Stephen Costello, Melissa Noriega and Jolanda Jones and District A Council Member Brenda Stardig. Jones and Stardig will be in run-off elections on Dec. 10.

Why did so many incumbent officeholders have difficulty in their re-election bids? Surely a weak local and national economy comes to mind as a reason for voter dissatisfaction, especially when incumbent officeholders were responsible to cutting services and raising fees in a weak economy. But if this was the cause of declining vote margins for incumbent officeholders, why didn’t all incumbents suffer a diminution in their electoral margins?

This week, Gov. Rick Perry proposed reforms to the U.S. Congress that among other things would result in that institution looking significantly more like the Texas Legislature. Many observers have suggested that is not a good thing for a host of reasons. Here I highlight one additional negative externality of the Texas model: roll call voting errors by representatives.

During the 2011 regular and special sessions, members of the Texas House cast roll call votes on 999 votes that were at least minimally contested (i.e., 2.5 percent of representatives voting were on the losing side). In a total of 1,402 instances, a representative voted either yes or no, and then later requested that a statement be inserted in the House Journal to indicate either that, while they voted yes, they had intended to vote no; or vice versa. While these statements allow the representative to go on the record with a different position on the vote (e.g., saying they opposed a bill in spite of the fact that their recorded vote indicates they favored the bill), they do not retroactively affect the legislative process (where the actual vote cast is what counts).

Six of the 10 largest wildfires in Texas history occurred in 2011. This year’s wildfire in Bastrop County set a somber state record for destruction: the highest number of homes lost in a single fire in Texas history.

Although it’s too soon to determine the total amount of insured property losses caused by Texas wildfires, 2011 is projected to be the worst in state history according to a spokesperson of the Insurance Council of Texas. The cost may exceed $150 million. The previous cost record was set in 2009, when fires caused more than $100 million in insured property damages statewide. In fact, Texas is currently dealing with its third yearlong wildfire season since 2005 — and its most severe. Others were in 2008 and 2009.